Designated Flood Plain in Corning, NY

[Gaffer]

In one case I spoke with neighbors and one party knew them and where they went. I then looked them up in the phone book.
In another case I went to the recorder of deeds at the county office building and looked up the prior deed. That gave me the prior owners names h & w and their attorneys name. I spoke with the attorney. He told me they had moved to Florida, but did not have their address. I googled 'White Pages' and their name in Florida, made a couple of phone calls and had a lengthy conversation with the then retired husband.
In the third case I obtained the name from the recorder of deeds. I could not get an address so knocked on doors in the neighborhood. An older lady had known them, but said both husband and wife had since passed.
Bottom line county deed records and neighbors are your best source.
You may have no choice but to purchase flood insurance if your lender requires it.
I don't understand why mom's neighbor did not get paid for his water damage although the flood policy may not cover back up of sewers or drains. It covers only floods which incidently is an "act of God".
Acts of God such as wind, hail and lightning are covered by a homeowners policy. Having been a claim professional for 36 years, 19 of which as an adjuster. Believe me I issued a lot of checks to cover repairs from those perils. I never did have a volcanic eruption claim another 'act of God' peril covered by some HO policies. Earthquake is also a covered peril if you purchase the endorsement for that coverage.
I sincerely hope your able to get the house you love and all works out for, that it provides you many years of enjoyment.
Like that place mine is also rural. I have enjoyed many a morning coffee on the back deck listening to the birds, geese flying over spring and fall and an occassional rabbit or deer and on one occassion a fox meandering thru the back yard or field beyond.

[sweetpea3829]

Originally Posted by Gaffer

Like that place mine is also rural. I have enjoyed many a morning coffee on the back deck listening to the birds, geese flying over spring and fall and an occassional rabbit or deer and on one occassion a fox meandering thru the back yard or field beyond.

Yup...this is what we're going for! I grew up in a wooded area and have always really loved the scene. Wildlife, dark nights unmarred by city light pollution, peace and quiet.

So when my husband and I set out to buy our first home...we purchased a multi in a not so nice part of RI because it was what we could afford, house prices were continuing to skyrocket with NOBODY saying they would drop, and we figured in five years, we'd sell the place for a nice little profit and have a down payment for a nice single family in a part of town that we loved.

Well we all know what happened next...we now are raising our four children on a street that is still somewhat quiet but is getting worse. Our multi is partially rented with us squeezed into 700sq ft of living space...and it's now worth around 100k less than what we owe on it. One set of neighbors have foreclosed and the neighbor across the street is in a short sale. Directly across from us, there is a family renting that is loud and obnoxious...vulgar and, well....just not the kind of neighbors we're really looking to have.

We never wanted to raise our kids in the city like this. The oldest is turning 5 next week and we want OUT! This house in Corning is really ideal...everything we're interested in.

Last year, we took a vacation to Hancock Township in PA (went to Sesame Place in Langhorne). The cottage that we rented was in a locale quite similar to Corning. We sat out in the back that first night just watching the fireflies. LOVED it! And I can't wait to have more nights like that.

So...anyways...thanks for the kind words and advice! We'll take a good look around the area...do some knocking on doors and see what we can find out. :-)

[citygirl102]

Yes, there was a major flood in 1972 there, and it affected all of that area. It appears that you may be in an area prone to flooding if you buy that house. It is nestled in between two steep hills with a creek running directly next to the property. You might want to do some research as the other posters mentioned about the flood history in that area. Corning, Elmira, Sayre, and Athens tend to be the hardest hit since they are located along side the Chemung and/or Susquehanna Rivers, whereas Horseheads is less prone to floods since it isn't located on a river.

[sweetpea3829]

We actually did visit the property and the basement was very wet. On one side of the house, the foundation is field stone and in that part of the basement, the ground is unfinished. But it was pretty clear that the part of the basement was wet. The walls had wet marks, there was some green, etc.

There were some issues with the drainage of the property and the sump pump as well as the well (I think my husband mentioned the well, can't remember).

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only problem with the house...besides the work not being quite completed (what was left wasn't much), there was a double roof. At some point, prior to the current owner, somebody built a roof right on top of the existing roof. And THEN, when the current owner replaced the roof, he didn't actually replace the roof, he added an additional layer! So in some spots, the roof had three layers of shingles. The realtor said in NY they could have five layers...here in RI the max is 2...maybe 3 at most.

But for sure, the double roof would have presented an issue during the home inspection. My husband wasn't sure that the inspector would pass it because of the weight (ie it's not structurally sound).

We liked the house...in the end, our financing fell through but it's probably for the better. The house looks nice and all...but honestly, I think it's a lemon. Shame too...we LOVED the area. And the kitchen was killer...lol.